4 Pillars of Missions

I have had the honor of working in missions since 1993. I took my first mission trip to Nigeria in 1993, and when I returned home after that trip, I swore to God that I would never leave Lanett, Alabama, ever again. I contracted a stomach bug that gave me dysentery that lasted almost 30 days. When I landed in Atlanta, Georgia, after that trip, my family and I walked outside the airport terminal. I literally stopped traffic, knelt down, and kissed the nasty pavement at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.

Little did I know that those thirty days planted the seed for missions, which, since 2001, has kept me in full-time mission service for the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have led mission teams to Guyana, South America, Haiti, Nicaragua, Trinidad, Indonesia, Tanzania, and, since 2003, repeated trips to Kenya, East Africa. The following four major points are pillars of what I see the missions movement has become in our generation:

1. Evangelism

The call of the Great Commission is still the call of the Great Commission. Every person who is called to ministry—whether home missions, foreign missions, pastoring a local church, or serving in a staff position—has in his or her heart a desire for evangelism: to win souls to the Kingdom of God.

Each person called to ministry has their own unique flow of evangelism. For some, it’s door-to-door witnessing. For others, it involves outreach—whether it’s a large event, passing out cold water at a stoplight, or organizing crusades that hopefully will win multitudes to Christ.

There is no one-size-fits-all label for evangelism. In Africa, outdoor crusades still attract masses of people who, when the net is pulled, bring many to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For Pam and me, local church revival campaigns are how God has used us for over twenty-five years. To say one form of evangelism is more important than another is prideful, arrogant, and will result in the loss of a harvest in many communities.

I frequently ask this question in local churches where I preach: “If God were to add fifty brand new converts to this church this Sunday (not transferring church members), in three weeks, where would those fifty brand new converts be?” Many churches are not healthy enough to handle new converts and would quickly become offended because they might lose their seat—or their church.

2. Discipleship

At this point in my life, I sense a strong call for local churches to establish some form of discipleship within their congregations. I hear people say all the time, “We need more discipleship in the church!” When in reality, we need God to birth in people’s hearts a desire for discipleship. You cannot disciple someone who feels like they know more than you do.

A couple of years ago, in prayer, the Holy Spirit dropped the phrase “apostolic training centers” into my heart. There are very few churches I frequent that do not desire to return to the model of the Church in Acts. Every day, I hear from more leaders who are tired of the corporate church model we have inherited and are determined to return their churches to being prayer and discipleship centers.

Every church that desires to become an “apostolic training center” will not look the same. For some, it will resemble a revival center; for others, a healing center. For others, there will be a focus on raising up marketplace ministers who can work in the business world to disciple others and generate provision for Kingdom work. As Paul said, we see in part and declare in part. Nevertheless, the major focus will be discipleship.

3. Church Planting

There will always be a need for new churches to be planted. I have advocated for new churches to be planted, even when it made me appear as though I was encouraging a leader to be rebellious and move out on their own. That is another sermon for another day—the travesty of keeping young men and women in a local congregation when God has called them out to do another work for the Kingdom. There is a reason car dealerships and fast food establishments cluster together: to give people a choice.

I am convinced every person in any community should be able to look out their door and see at least five churches within walking distance. Not to compete with one another, but to eliminate every excuse from those who say, “I cannot find a church to attend.”

4. Leadership Development

This is extremely important to Pam and me in this season. AEGA has always worked to be a leadership development movement—not just a leadership organization, but a movement. Through Omega Bible Institute & Seminary, which trains leaders in the United States, and Evangel Christian University of America, which oversees our international training affiliates, we must continue to reach leaders, teach leaders, train leaders, and then release leaders to follow their God-inspired mandate.

For more information on how AEGA can help you in any of these four pillars of missions, please reach out to Bishop Jesse Guerrero at genpres@aega.org, or Bishop David Copeland at genoverseer@aega.org.